Equal
by AZ1087653
Summary: Partnerships are about equality, no matter the situation. Furihata may have let Akashi lead him, but there is no way that will happen all the time. (Belated (horribly!) birthday story for Risque Tendencies! Happy Birthday! (Story takes place quite a ways in the future, so personalities might have changed.)


I feel like such a dick because I missed a friend's birthday thanks to life sucking. Now, many months later I am finally posting something. Happy Birthday, Risque! It is either very early or very late. However, she deserves a story. Especially since this is her OTP for Kuroko no Basuke.

/GG/

Equal

Everyone had always said that twenty was the age to attain. No longer were people children, but they were full on adults! Adults could do so much more and were given so much more respect than children. Of course after hitting twenty, more ages followed. Twenty-five was a big year because it was a quarter of a century. Then thirty came around; and just like every other year, another followed and another. Soon the years that had passed were distant memories, and a teenager completely forgets why he or she wants to become an adult because he or she has been an adult for more than a decade.

Furihata Kouki didn't care anymore. He had been happy all of those lost years, even though they never had actually been lost. They just seemed to have gone by way too fast for his liking, and as he sat at the western-style table in the kitchen of his home, with the man he'd married some five years before on a trip that Furihata could only describe as something from a shojo manga, he smiled. Akashi Seijurrou had all but kidnapped him and flown the two to Amsterdam in for a whirlwind vacation that had included a marriage, if one referred to getting married as _a marriage_.

Kouki had been speechless as the redhead had gently pulled him into the courthouse and said they'd be getting married nice and legal-like, even if it wouldn't be accepted in Japan. Who knew Akashi had been a romantic at heart? The first time Kouki had left Asia was the same trip in which he'd gotten married. Normally he'd have thrown a fit at not being part of the process, but the look in Sei-san's red eyes told him that it had been something the other had worked hard to keep secret because he wanted it to be a surprise. Making love that night, following the impromptu wedding, had been spectacular.

They'd talked about marriage for a couple of years, but due to the Akashi name, nothing was ever going to be permanent. Then, to defy the legacy, the heir of the Akashi Corporation had not only eloped, but did so outside of the country. While the marriage would not be seen in Japan, it would have looked terrible to force a marriage on Akashi the younger if said man was legally married in a foreign country. Thus, his Sei-san had cemented their relationship in the eyes of everyone, as well as made it clear that he was smart enough to keep the vultures away.

Five years ago, for his 28th birthday, he had become the happiest man in the world. Sure, there were the ups and downs of any relationship, but those were to be expected. His redheaded husband had been in the hospital after a gun-shot wound from a botched robbery. Said wound left his right arm numb and he couldn't use it well anymore. Furihata, himself, had lost his job due to recession and was now just beginning to make a decent salary after having had to start over again with a new company.

Then there was everyone else. Friends came and went, got married and had kids, moved to different hemispheres, and occasionally sent a post card or letter in the mail. Kouki was grateful for email since he could see pictures of Hyuuga-senpai and Riko's brood of young basketball-playing stars. Why the three had decided to have five children was beyond his comprehension. Neither seemed to be the type, but after that first one, it is said to get easier.

Of Furihata's old school-mates, the one he had the most contact with was Kuroko, who had decided not to get married, but was happily living with a girl he'd met while in university. They'd opened up a kindergarten the year prior and were happy to have other people's children during the day and each other at night. Thanks to Akashi, two of the children who attended said kindergarten were Mibuchi's five year old daughters.

Furihata had no idea how time seemed to fly as it had, but on that day, his 33rd birthday, he was quite content to be playing footsies with the man across the table. Kouki sipped his coffee, reading through a stack of papers that were going to the office with him later on. Occasionally he'd glance up and watch his husband turn through the New York Times (in English) Newspaper, and smile. He was happy.

"Kou." Akashi's voice cut the silence and caused the other to look up. "Would you take a look at these pictures before we head off today? I just want your opinion."

The brown-haired man took the packet of papers and started to leaf through them with a cocked brow. Each paper had the picture of a woman, physical information, as well as pictures of any immediate family.

"What are these for, Sei?" Furihata asked, not quite getting the point.

"You had mentioned the last time Mibuchi-san and his family were here that you had wanted children," Akashi said, not lowering the newspaper. "So I went ahead and looked for some surrogates. So, you see any that are to your liking?"

A bomb could have gone off in the living room and Kouki wouldn't have moved. His mouth immediately went dry and his hands started to shake. Yes, he'd wanted to have children at some point, but then Akashi had come into his life like a storm and he'd decided he didn't want children, he'd rather have had the former basketball captain.

"Um…I…," he couldn't quite think, so he put the papers on the table. "Akashi Seijuurou, look at me," he demanded.

The newspaper went down and he found himself drowning in a sea of red eyes and an inquisitive expression from the slightly younger man.

"What are you doing?" he asked, completely taken away by another storm the man of his dreams had conjured.

"I want to have a baby with you," Akashi deadpanned, face displaying no emotion, almost like he was channeling Kuroko.

"I can see that, but…" Furihata's eyes closed for a moment and he took a deep breath, though he noticed his foot was still rubbing up and down the other's leg under the table. "I guess I always assumed we'd adopt. I didn't know you wanted to produce an heir." He looked at his husband and could feel the intensity in the room compound rather quickly as he felt his own leg get felt up under the table.

"I am not doing this to produce an heir. My father is more than capable of producing an heir still if he wants one. I chose these women because I think they complement _you_ , Kou, not me."

Another bomb had gone off somewhere, probably in the nearest bathroom. Furihata's eyes bugged and he forgot to breathe for a few moments while his mind wrapped around what the man across the table said. What had he just said? It wasn't clear, nor was it sinking into his brain. He felt himself start to shake in a manner he'd not felt since the first time he'd laid eyes on his future spouse. Only this time it wasn't intimidation that was causing the shaking, but the utter confusion he'd felt under that initial intimidation.

"You want me to supply the semen?" he asked.

"When I said I want to have a baby with _you_ , I meant _you_."

"Then you don't care about producing an heir for the Akashi blood-line?"

Kouki heard the other man sigh and watched as his husband stood up, walked the few feet toward him, and stand a few inches away. A soft hand was extended and placed on the back of Furihata's neck, while the other hand helped the man stand. Seconds later his lips were captured in a needy, but soft kiss that caused his heart to beat a samba in his chest. Even after all these years the former basketball star could still take his breath away.

"Furihata Kouki," Akashi said. Using his full name meant something important. "Having a child with you will never, and has never been about producing an heir. It has been about you and me, no one else. An heir to my company does not need my blood, he or she just needs our love."

Kouki felt his knees grow weak and he was glad that Akashi hadn't pulled away. Years at the head of the company had mellowed the other, but the intensity in which he worked was still prevalent. The way he spoke, his manner of walking, everything that his husband did commanded an air of respect. Even telling of having a child was absolute.

"Are you sure?" Kouki knew how it might look to have _his_ bloodline take over the corporation. Granted, he'd long gotten over the whole class thing, but that did not mean that Akashi senior wouldn't have something to say about the situation. Not to mention how important some people in Japan still treated things like bloodlines. That had actually been one of the reasons he'd figured they hadn't discussed adoption too much, the bloodline would have been severed, especially since neither had a sibling to carry on the family name, so to speak.

Akashi backed up and linked his hands with Kouki's and pulled the man away from the breakfast table toward a picture of the two of them that hung on the wall in the hallway. He remembered that day, the day he'd asked the redhead out for the first time. After Kuroko's constant bickering about how Aksahi needed to get out more during their senior year of high school, Kouki had decided to appease his younger teammate and ask the man to accompany him to a movie. Sure, he'd had to spend his entire year's allowance to travel by train to Kyoto, but the _date_ that hadn't been a date had been fun. Plus, it had opened up the door to something that created a happy family. Kuroko was definitely a bastard, because he had to have known what was going to happen. Kouki reminded himself to thank the jerk later.

The picture was of the two of them, candidly taken when they'd exited the theatre. Sei had been smiling, a rare sight in Kouki's mind, but that smile was worth more than a thousand words. He, too, had been smiling in the picture.

"I like this picture," Akashi spoke. "When I looked at it after I got home that day it made me realize that my friendships had become real. But there was something different about you that never sat the same way. I remember looking at this picture a few years ago and thinking to myself how much I'd love to have a daughter with your same features. Someone we could spoil, like Mibuchi-kun spoils those twins of his. She doesn't need to take over the family business. She can be whatever she wants."

Dumbfounded was not even a strong enough verb to describe how Furihata felt at the admission. Not only had Akashi, someone who had been born and raised to respect tradition, admitted to being fine with a child who was not biologically his own, but had even said that a girl would be nice. Kouki fell in love all over again.

"Of course if the child is a boy, that will be alright, too," Akashi continued, voice as stone-like as normal. "As long as it is yours."

That wasn't going to fly. Yes, it was sweet, but Furihata was not going to take a backseat this time. They were equal partners, of which Sei-san was more than happy to admit most of the time, but this decision was not one Kouki was going to take just because his nowaki-husband had an idea.

"I don't accept that," he replied, still looking at the picture. He could feel his spouse tense up at the words once they left his mouth. "I won't agree if it's just me." Furihata looked over at Akashi and could see the pain in the other man's eyes. How he loved those eyes, for they were a window into the soul of a man who was so dedicated when something of importance came up, that he would put his own happiness on hold. Akashi had been like that when his 'other self' had taken over. Once something popped into the redhead's mind, if it was something he thought of as important, he ignored all other warning signs and plowed straight forward. In their relationship Kouki was the one who could get the other to turn away from looking only straight ahead. That was why they complimented each other so well, Kouki kept the other man grounded.

"You don't want to have a child?" While to the untrained ear it would have sounded impassive, Furihata could tell his Sei was trying to remain composed because it was laced with enough hurt to break his heart.

"No, Sei, that is not what I meant." Kouki admonished with a slight smile. "If we are going to have kids, I want to have a baby with _you_ , too." Sometimes he had to act like the parent to Akashi's childish nature. When they had been teens it had been the tantrums that Akashi threw. As an adult it was the inner turmoil that he'd tried to keep hidden. Akashi's teen tantrums ended up with people hurt, but more often than not he was only hurting himself. It had taken a couple of years for Kouki to see these tantrums and understand what was happening. After the realization, it had been easy to remedy.

As Seijuurou was not speaking, Furihata continued. "I am fine with adopting a child or two," he stated with conviction. "However, if we are using a surrogate, then she has to agree to two children, one from me and one from you." The brown-headed man could feel the grip on his hand tighten. The strong-willed heir to the Akashi Corporation had been touched, and probably humbled. "Is that okay with you, Sei?"

The response was a hug that quickly turned into a kiss. Not to be outdone, the older of the two pushed his husband against the wall and took control of the situation. They were an even team in everything that they did. He'd saved Akashi, while the man had saved him as well. Sei was letting him devour his lips and play with his body to the point where work may have had to be put on hold, not that it mattered in Akashi's case. Furihata didn't give a flying fuck at that point though, and decided then and there he was going to make love to his husband on the wall of their home, next to the first picture of the two of them together. Later on they could discuss children more openly, but all that mattered to him in that moment was reiterating their equal partnership in everything they did together.


End file.
